The 2023 college football season has reached it's climax and the Michigan Wolverines will take on the Washington Huskies to decide the NCAAF national champions.
Michigan come into this game with a perfect 14-0 record for the season having dominated the East division of the Big Ten Conference, while Washington earned their own perfect 14-0 record after dominating the Pac-12 conference.
We'll take a look ahead to the big game and provide you with our best free NCAAF betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you watch the action on the field.
Learn more about how to bet on the NCAAF here.
Michigan Wolverines vs Washington Huskies information
- Sunday, January 7th 2024
- NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
- 19:30 ET kick-off
Season so far
Michigan have been the best team in the country during the 2023 season, and racked up a flawless 14-0 record to prove it.
The Wolverines opened the season with a brilliant 30-3 win over the East Carolina Pirates, before dominating the UNLV Rebels with a 35-7 win in week 2 in front of almost 110,000 fans. That was followed up with wins over the Bowling Green Falcons and Rutgers Scarlet Knights to move to 4-0 at home.
Their first game on the road came against the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a huge 45-7 win, before then earning another win away from home by defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers 52-10. A 52-7 home win came next against the Indiana Hoosiers, before a stunning blowout earned them a 49-0 win on the road against Michigan State Spartans.
A 41-13 win over Purdue took them to 9-0 before a tough 24-15 win over Penn State took them to double digits for wins. There were then some tough games against Maryland Terrapins and Ohio State Buckeyes to close out the season 12-0, before a dominant 26-0 shutout over Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big 10 Championship game last time out.
They then took on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl clash and earned a spot in the national championship game with a 27-20 overtime win on New Year's Day.
Washington alternatively had their own perfect season up to this point, starting with a dominant 56-19 win over Boise State in week 1. That was followed up with a 43-10 win over Tulsa before a 41-7 win over Michigan State in game 3.
A dominant 59-32 victory at home over California was next, before a road victory over Arizona followed ahead of the big rivalry clash with Oregon ended in a 36-33 win.
Arizona State kept the score all the way down but still fell to a 15-7 defeat in week 7, before high-scoring clashes with Stanford (42-33) and USC (52-42) also ended in victory for the Huskies. Utah, Oregon State and Washington State were the next victims before the Pac-12 championship game saw them earn a 34-31 win over Oregon once again.
Last time out at the Sugar Bowl Washington earned a hard-fought 37-31 win over Texas to claim their spot in the championship game.
NCAAF Picks: Michigan Wolverines to win @ -190
Blake Corum could put up a 200-yard game against Washington and nobody would bat an eyelid. The Huskies' below-average run defense has been underperforming as of late and to make things worse for their expectant fans, Washington allowed the 11th-most passing yards per game (267.1) over the course of the season.
To Michigan’s credit, it boasts one of the top defenses in the nation, but has it played any quarterback as good as Michael Penix Jr.? You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who says yes.
The Wolverines need a consistent balanced attack on offense, and they must find a way to ensure their ever-reliable defense remains exactly that way. If they can't then Washington have the quality to punish them, but expect Michigan to get the job done and be crowned national champions for the first time since 1997.
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NCAAF Picks: Under 55.5 total match points @ -110
There is fantastic potential for a lot of points to be scored in this game because both teams have got brilliant offensive units.
Washington have managed 572 points scored in their 14 games this season, averaging a total of 37.64 per game in the process. Michigan on the other hand have managed to score 504 points this season for an average of 36 points scored per game.
But defensively both teams have been fantastic too. The Huskies have conceded 338 points over their 14 games, averaging 24.14 points allowed per game. The Wolverines have been much better defensively, conceding just 143 points in their 14 games this season for an average of 10.21 points per game.
The points total is definitely reachable if both teams go for it, but the chances of Michigan not making the most of their defensive advantages are slim to none.
In their 14 games this season Michigan have only seen the 56 point total hit or surpassed twice and they scored 50+ points in both games. Washington have seen the total hit eight times in their 14 games, but the chances of them scoring as freely in this game as they have been all season seems unlikely.
Expect a relatively close game in the scoring, but not a free-flowing offensive game which should see the under land.
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